EDMONTON, Alberta — Almost three years have passed since the Bruins traded Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings and, in many respects, he turned the page on that chapter of his personal history.

However, his memories remain, and the Bruins will never be just another team on the schedule for the winger.

“It was all I knew for eight years and for the better part of my 20s,” Lucic said late Tuesday before the Bruins beat his Edmonton Oilers, 3-2. “All I knew was the spoked B and being a Boston Bruin and being an athlete. I think about not just my life as a professional but my life as a whole. I’ve spent a third of it in the city of Boston. It’s kind of where I grew up and learned to become a man and all that. That’s what comes with it. I think that’s why there is excitement. You think about all those times and good times. You remember being a 19-year-old being new to a city and I knew nothing about it.

“It’s just being in that city, that culture, it was something that converted me into a Patriots fan, a Red Sox fan, a Celtics fan. Just being a part of that city, a part of that culture, it was the only thing I knew. I think that’s why it makes it so special every time I play against this team. You talk about the B wearing off? I think that’s why it doesn’t wear off.”

Lucic chatted with former teammates and the training staff Tuesday morning. It’s still weird to see him in a different uniform.

“It always will be,” said Bruins winger Brad Marchand. “With what we went through and the memories that we have, what he did for Boston and the player he was. He left a huge mark.”

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The faster NHL has not been kind to Lucic. He’s stuck at nine goals and hasn’t scored in 23 games. He has two goals and three assists in five games against his old team.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with sticking it to them or anything like that,” said Lucic. “It just has to do with being excited and getting up for it and all that type of stuff.”

Bruins prospect Ryan Donato lit it up for Team USA at the Olympics. With a goal in the 3-2 shootout loss to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal round in South Korea, the winger had five in five games. Asked if there was a chance the Bruins could sign Donato out of the Games, General Manager Don Sweeney wasn’t biting.

“Ryan’s in the moment of playing in the Olympics and that’s where we’ll leave that,” said Sweeney. “We’re excited about the future of him being a Boston Bruin and hopefully he feels the exact same way.”

Donato could go back to Harvard, finish out the season and then sign with Boston and be eligible for the playoffs, if he signs before the regular season is over.

THE ARIZONA Coyotes acquired goalie Darcy Kuemper from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for forward Tobias Rieder and goalie Scott Wedgewood.

The 27-year-old Kuemper was 10-1-3 with a 2.10 goals-against average in 19 games for the Kings this season.

THE MONTREAL Canadiens traded defenseman Jakub Jerabek to the Capitals on Wednesday for a 2019 fifth-round pick. The 26-year-old Jerabek had a goal and three assists in 25 games this season with Montreal.


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